Marquez Pope Madden Career 1995-2002 - Peak 87 OVR

Marquez Pope played all four of California's NFL teams across a ten-year career, but his best years came in San Francisco. A second-round pick out of Fresno State by the Chargers in 1992, he arrived with the 49ers in 1995 and started in the secondary for four seasons, intercepting six passes in 1996, his finest year.

Madden's grades tracked him as a solid starting defensive back, peaking at an 87 for the 1998 season on the strength of a 94 speed rating, with the usual scattering of noisy cards, including a glitchy 47 in the middle of his 49ers run that does not fit the player around it. At his best the game had him in the mid-80s, a fast, capable starter who could play corner or safety, which is roughly what he was.

Pope intercepted around 19 passes across stops with the Chargers, Rams, 49ers, Browns and Raiders before retiring after 2001. He was never a Pro Bowler, but he started for most of a decade and gave San Francisco four steady years in the defensive backfield. Madden marked him as exactly that, a good starter who moved around the league and did his job wherever he landed.